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Photography exhibition: Frames that capture life on the streets of the world
At an upcoming exhibition in Gurgaon, 36 photographs by Rajesh Ramakrishnan and Ranu Jain explore street life in different countries.
Two years back, on a holiday in Vietnam, when marketing professional Rajesh Ramakrishnan sat for lunch in a restaurant, his family quickly took to the menu to order food, but Ramakrishnan’s eyes wandered elsewhere. Soon his fancy caught the fearful sight of a disfigured body on the roof of the eatery, and he captured the silhouette that’s now a photograph titled Window Cleaner. It be displayed along with the pictures by freelance photographer Ranu Jain, at an upcoming exhibition, Street from the heart.
“I started leaning photography at evening workshops in Mumbai, about 13 years back. As an engineer, I have always been a logical person. Before taking to photography, when I encountered an issue, I used to tackle it in a particular way, like a marketing person would. But, photography taught me to see things with a different perspective,” says Ramakrishnan. His work titled Grape Masks brings an instant smile on the viewers’ face due to a comic perspective through which he has shot this frame.
Curated by Bangladesh-based photographer Saud Al Faisal, the exhibition has about 36 frames on display, which have been clicked in different parts of the world including Bangladesh, Milan, Italy, Dubai and India. Ramakrishnan’s works evoke a specific emotion in the viewer, whereas Jain’s images are usually reflective of the poetic side of life. “The picture titled Still Life — where a pigeon takes flight above street art on a wall — was taken in Dubai. I shot it because in that split second I felt as if the bird was part of the artwork and was taking flight from it,” says Jain, who is largely self-taught.
Jain’s interest in the poetics of life is also visible in her works such as the one titled Reflections, clicked in New York. “I like how things merge, and took this picture of people walking with umbrellas, as it reflected on the window of a shop, from the inside. The boundaries of the inner and the outer world came together at that point,” explains Jain. Her works will also have some poetry alongside the display at the gallery.
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